Erin is a nerd… GC 2012 edition

Watching General Conference videos the other day. YouTube suggests… Russian Floorball.  I don’t know what that is but it sounds exciting.

Sermon: “Ask Your Father”

Luke 11:1-13 NRSV

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.” So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

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Audio MP3: saintpaulsumc.org

My dad worked as a manager at Kmart until I was in middle school.  There is a sweet story that my family tells about a time when my mom took me to see him at the store.  They were having a family festival and were giving out balloons.  My favorite color was brown when I was in preschool, so I’m sure that I had to settle for a red one.  Well sometime after leaving the store and saying goodbye to my dad, my balloon popped.  I’m sure the tears flowed.  Well my mom called my dad at work and asked him to bring home a new balloon for me.  When my dad came home, I saw the balloon in his hand (a red one of course).  I ran up to him and exclaimed, “Daddy, you fixed it!”  To me, he just knew what I needed and he took care of it without me even asking.  I think that God does that for use more times than we can count.  But today’s lesson is about how we ask our heavenly father.

Yellow for Spring

Here’s my Easter dress.  I cheated and wore it again the next Sunday for confirmation, not to the same church.  I got more compliments on it than I’ve got on any outfit in a long time.  Though this is not me in it.  I have no pictures.  Though they may exist out there as  I was the unfortunate subject of the “Here’s people getting food off the brunch buffet” photo session.  And I doubt that will be flattering, pretty dress or no.

I think that it is very me.

I brought cupcakes for the confirmands.  Prepare to be awed.  I spent so much time slaving on them.

True cupcake confession:  These are Walmart cupcakes with Veggie Tale “Peep-like” marshmallows stuck on them.  It was hard work, but anything for the kids.

That’s what I’m known for

We had our monthly United Methodist Women’s Circle meeting tonight.  We went to the Mexican joint.  I decided to just order some guacamole because if I’m blowing my calorie goals I want to do it on something that I really like.  So chips and guac for me.

Well Tamara said to me, “I never see you eat anything.”  RIGHT!  That’s me never eating anything.  Except my weight in tortilla chips.  And enough tea sandwiches to make me sick.  And more than my fair share of spinach puffs.  And that’s just when I was with Tamara.

So my weight loss/conscience eating have lead to two things (well besides the, you know, weight loss.)  One,  I spend a lot of time thinking about, planning for, dealing with, feeling guilty about, and generally obsessing over food.  I can quote calorie count to you.  It feels a little over kill.  But that’s the way it has to be.  But on the plus side, I’m saving some money.  Turns out when you need less food it costs less money.  Shocking I know.  So besides my eating small amounts when I go out I also look like a cheap skate.

But I’m ok with that.  I’m cheap… even at my fattest.  Now I’m just a bit lighter.

Confirmation 2010

The ceremony was lovely and uncomplicated this year.  I got to read the kids’ names again this year.  Maybe a part of it was that I only went to about 4 sessions of a reduced number anyway.  Plus the retreat, which was great fun.  Here’s some shots from the ropes course.

They are singing I’m a little teapot.

They are a fun group.  Most of them told me that the word games I brought were there favorite part.  No wonder I like them.

If they can call it “studying the bible” I can call it “smart-aleckyness”

My spiritual gift is knowledge.  Sound’s good, right?  But wait just one minute.  In my youth spiritual gifts inventory they gave it a new name, “Studying the Bible.”  And I think I know why… because knowledge ≠wisdom.  It’s easily confused, you see.  But when you look at me you will see the lots of knowledge, not so much wisdom.  Lots of butting in and sounding off, not a lot of think it through and ponder the outcome.  It get’s me in trouble at work, at the theatre, well basically wherever.  It’s the thing that caused me to spend 2-3 fraught days working on month-long assignments and still getting passing grades. Smart but not wise.

I guess sometimes gifts are challenging.  Like a puzzle, or a computer game, or an art set.  And sometimes those are the best gifts. It just takes some work and perseverance.

Jacksonville Adventure

Today I’m at work, and it’s been very quiet (a fact that we will pay for tomorrow), but last weekend I went on a road trip to Jacksonville.  I had been planning to renew my lay speaking certification by taking the required 10 hour class that was offered in Crawfordville about a month ago, but it conflicted with my work schedule.  Most of the classes are offered on two consecutive Saturdays, which does not work with the way my work works :).  So they were offering one more class this year in Jacksonville on Friday night and Saturday all day.  I could go to that and only have to take a few hours off from work instead of a whole day.  They had a spot left in the advanced “You Can Lead Worship Class.”

I left work at 3 on Friday to get there in time for the 6:30 start time.  And I was able to spent my down time that day planning what I could do with my extra time while I was there.   I even considered getting the hotel room for 2 nights so that I could visit the young adult ministry at one of the Big Churches and go to the Fort Caroline National Memorial, but my cheapness won out and I decided that would have to wait until next time.

But here’s what I did get to do.

1.  I went to the class.  It was mediocre to bad, I am sad to say.  And I guess that’s mainly because I did not learn very much.  The content level was only slightly higher than confirmation class.  And the tone was so pessimistic, whining about how no one wants to got to worship service and no one ever listens to what the pastor says.  And things like spending at least a half hour talking about acrostics that have to do with prayer (PUSH= Pray until something happens…groan.)  On the positive side I am encouraged by the number of people seeking leadership development, and how course there are the people in general who are just the best part of the operation: the leaders and the participants, kind and generous and with great stories and testimonies.

2. I decided to skip the provided lunch so that I could go to “Cozy Tea.”  Which was a bit pricey and caused me to be late back to class, but was totally worth it. Best Scone EVER!!!

3. After class I went to the bank, because they have Compasses in Jacksonville so I was able to make a night deposit. Then I went to the Cupcakery.

With cymbals, tambourine, and Honda

“so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -Romans 15:6

It just so happens that I drive God’s favorite car.

Bean Salad St. George

The bean salad that I made for our young adult retreat.

Can of Green Beans (rinsed)
Can of Garbanzo Beans (rinsed)
Can of Kidney Beans (rinsed)
Can of Black Beans (rinsed)
Can of chopped Water Chestnut (rinsed)
Half a red onion, chopped
6 Tbsp French Dressing (I used Publix brand)
3 Tbsp Medium Salsa
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

Mix everything together and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Sermon: Previously Untitled now “Jesus is your Sandwich”

John 6:51-58 NRSV

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’
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I love to cook. I don’t even really remember when I started. It just seems like something that I always did. From mixing up kool-aid to cutting boiled eggs with a safety knife. In middle school I had this signature dish that I got from watching an Italian cooking show on PBS on Saturday mornings. It was called black olive pasta, and was basically black olives tomatoes and garlic sautéed together and served over bowtie pasta. It got rave reviews from my family. And we ate it enough, until we all eventually got sick of it. But you can still find the recipe in the back of one of my mom’s cookbooks, even though I can’t remember the last time we ate it.